Trevor Jackson Presents Metal Dance

Are you a child of the 80's and early 90's? Did you smoke Clove cigarettes? Did you wear a lot of black? Were trench coats a big staple of your high school and college wardrobe? If you can answer yes to any of these questions have I got a record for you. Trevor Jackson presents Metal Dance is an indispensible rundown of the songs that more than likely shaped your social life, dance floor politics, and very existence during high school and or college.

Featuring a who's who of industrial, post punk, EBM and containing more than 20 classics and rarities from such bands as Cabaret Voltaire, 23 Skidoo, Neon, Pete Shelley, DAF, Jah Wobble and more this is pretty much the most essential reissue collection of 2012. This is a record that harks back to the day when there was an actual alternative to the mainstream of dance music. This was music that was dark, devilish, and delicious but still had a danceable beat. This is a record that's so in touch with it's 80's heritage and inner goth you can almost see the dry ice coming from the packaging. This is nu-beat before it even had a name. It's spiky, it's spooky, it's lush, it's packed with eerie vocals and hooks and it's downright addictive. Every song here is incredible, every song here (rarity or not) is a classic and every artist here has left their mark on the dance scene of today. In fact, it's not difficult to say that electro, electroclash, witch house, chill wave and the like would not exist if artists like SPK and Fini-Tribe didn't exist. These guys were doing this stuff thirty years before hipsters latched onto it and quite honestly did a better job with less technology.

If you buy one compilation of dance music this year, you should definitely include Trevor Jackson presents Metal Dance on your short list. As someone who grew up around this stuff this is a flashback I don't want to come back from. These songs are fantastic, this record is brilliant, and Trevor Jackson has proven himself worthy of sainthood. Trevor Jackson presents Metal Dance is essential listening...period.